ABSTRACT: Ectomycorrhizae as a Hydrologic Indicator in Wetland Identification

DWRC 2001 -2002 Intern: Kristin Staats

Project Advisor: Dr. Bruce Vasilas

Wetlands are an important ecosystem, of which acreage of had decreased over

the past decades. Because of seasonal saturation of some true hydric soils,

delineation of these environments is challenging given current technology

and methods. Ectomycorrhizal fungi, ubiquitous soil microorganisms, may be

an indicator of hydroperiod and/or hydrology of an area in question. The

overall objective of this study is to develop a relationship between the

presence of ectomycorrhizal fungal and hydrology/hydroperiod of soils. The

collection of fungal mantles in three field locations, monitoring of depth

to water table, and description of the soils at the sites has been in

progress since 1998. It appears that ectomycorrhizae do not colonize the

roots of plants below a depth which saturation occurs for any length of

time. This positively supports the hypothesis. Given further analysis of

root samples collected, this information will hopefully become part of the

documentation used to identify hydric soils.